Monday 19 September 2011

ATOC tells Hammond to get a grip!

Hurrah for ATOC!

Finally someone in the industry has had the cojones to challenge the Secretary of State on his spectacularly ill advised suggestion that the railways are a "rich man's toy"!

Happily the BBC was there to record the words of ATOC's newly emboldened CEO at a LibDem fringe event tonight:

"Philip Hammond needs to read his brief a bit more closely before making these kind of comments."

Of course had Michael followed Eye's coverage of Derbygate he would not have been surprised by Petrol-head's strange utterances and inability to read from the Departmental script.

For as any ful kno, Paper-knife is only trusted by his officials to 'open envelopes'.

UPDATE: This from Croesus...

I rather think everyone has missed the point of my good friend Philip's most witty quip.

He is rich.

The railway is his toy.


N'est pas?

UPDATE: This from El Sureño...

Muy Estimado Señor Compilador,

Surely it should be ‘someone in the industry has the cojones to challenge the Secretary of State’.


Unless you are implying that our brave railwaymen have literally been emasculated by the dead hand of DfT.

Latest transport ePetitions

This from a Mr Malins...

It's good of Eye to give us a vote on the next Chairman of Network Rail, but did you know the Government allows us a vote on DfT policy, which they will then of course ignore?

I have picked out 10 from the DfT section of the Government e-petitions website for Eye readers to consider.


My particular favourite, for which I wish to enlist support, is that devoted to the
Battle of the Barriers.


It isn't mine so don't quibble about the wording.

Just sign it and DfT might take some notice, which so far they have declined to do.

The King's Cross barrier shambles is evidence of their culpability.

Angel hands Salmond independence on a plate

This from the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme website...

Has Angel at last found a home for the five off-lease class 180s?


And will this naked act of English aggression hasten North British independence?

UPDATE: This from Globetrotter...

Maybe Transport Scotland is taking a leaf out of English transport policy?

Invest a lot of money into stringing wiring from Edinburgh too Glasgow and then procure a fleet of 125 mile/h DMUs to run underneath it.


Perhaps someone should tell them that you can't convert a 180 to a bi-mode...

Overcrowded passengers starved for 900 days

Today we join the Treasury in celebrating 900 days since anyone signed a contract for new passenger trains.


Eye would like to thank: Lord Adonis, Alistair Darling, Philip Hammond, George Osborne and their officials, for delivering on the new trains they endlessly and repetitively promised in the HLOS.

Perhaps their sofa is broken?


That is all.